Rail-fastening.



A. B. B. HARRIS. RAIL FASTENING. APPLICATION FILED we. a, 1912.

Patented May 26, 1914.

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A. B. B. HARRIS. RAIL FASTENING.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 8, 1912.

1 ,O98,036, Y Y Patented May 26, 1914.

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ALEXANDER B. B. HARRIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAIL-FASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1914.

Application filed August 8, 1912. Serial No. 713,978.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALEXANDER B. B. I-Lxnnrs, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Fastenings, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a tie-plate for use on railways, th plate and its adjuncts being of special construction to insure firm anchorage to the tie while at the same time admitting of lateral adjustment of the rail to correct changes in gage due to wear.

The invention is of particular utility for correcting rail wear at curves but can be used in Other places as desired, more particularly to correct changes in gage produced by wear.

It is a further object to provide an accurate rail bearing surface and to insure an even bearing of the rail on the tie, the plate preferably being anchored securely in place independent of the spiking or other means used to hold the rail on the plate. The plate may also be so shaped as to protect the heads of the spikes or the like from the shearing action of derailed wheels.

In the drawings forming a part of the present application, Figure 1 is a'plan view of a tie-plate having sector shaped holes for receiving spikes or pins as shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation illustrating the clenched engagement between the lugs of the tie-plate and the wood of a tie. Fig. 3 shows a modified form of plate fastening with protecting shoulders at the sides of the outer spike head. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the plate shown in Fig. 3, showing the use of two varieties of spikes which, when interchanged can be used to shift the position of the rail. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the tie-plate shown in Fig. 8 illustrating a spike in position. Fig. 6 illustrates diagrammatically the use of a shouldered spike for shifting the base of the rail sidewise on a tie-plate. Fig. 7 is a plan view of another form of tie-plate. Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of the same with a rail in place. Fig. 9 shows a plate suitable for use with screw spikes. Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation through the same on the line 1010 of Fig. 9; and Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the plate showing the relative position of the screw spikes.

The tie-plate 1 illustrated in Fig. 1 is of rectangular outline and may be either a malleable casting or otherwise suitably shaped and has on its lower face a plurality of projections 2 and 8, these projections belng of segmental shape and so tapered as to be somewhat thickened at their ends. These projections serve as anchoring devices, for after being inserted in bored holes in the upper face of a tie, preferably after the tie has been surfaced at its top, they can be moved or bent sidewise at their lower ends through the wedging action of a suitable pin or spike 4, fitting closely in a hole in the tie-plate and driven to position much as an ordinary spike might be driven into the wood. In Fig. 2 the right hand pin or spike 4 is in position for insertion into the tieplate to bend over the projection 3 to a position corresponding with that occupied by projection 2. Two varieties of spikes may be used in connection with this tie-plate, one variety like spike 4 having an enlargement 5 on its inner side just below the head and another variety like spike (3 without this enlargement. The tie-plate has a width be tween spike holes somewhat greater than the base of the rail and by reversing or interchanging the positions of spikes 4t and 6, a rail can be adjusted or shifted sidewise on the tie-plate sufliciently to compensate for the wearing of the rails. In the construction shown in Fig. 2, the shoulder 5 of spike 4 seats directly on the top face of the tie-plate.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 8, 4 and 5, the tie-plate has a plurality of projections or bosses 7 seated in bored holes in the upper face of a tie and thereby secured against shifting movement and consequent wear when the rail is in service. The spikes 8 and 9 used in connection with this plate for holding the rail in position may be of rectangular cross-section as shown. The spikes on one side of the rail may have an alining shoulder as shown at 10 on spike 8, in which case the spikes on the opposite side of the rail will be constructed without the shoulder. This shoulder 10 preferably seats into a rectangular notch or box 11 (Fig. 3) giving steadiness to the spike head. This has the additional function that if the spike wor s upward during service, there will still be enough of the shoulder 10 in contact with the rail flange to hold it firmly against the opposing spike 9. A similar notch or recess 12 is provided on the opposite side of the tie-plate to permit reversal or interchange of the spikes 8 and 9 in case gage adjustment is to be effected.

At one end of the tie-plate, namely the end to be used on the outside of the track, two upstanding lugs or shoulders 13 and 14 are provided, these preferably being of tapering outline as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. It is the principal function of these shoulders to protect the head of the adjacent spike from the shearing action of a derailed wheel, it having been found that many serious wrecks have been caused through displacement of a rail after the spikes along one side have been sheared off by a derailed wheel.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 6 comprises a tie-plate 15 having a top face somewhat broader than the base of the rail and beveled off at the sides 16 and having the lower face equipped with projecting cylindrical bosses 17 adapted for insertion into bored holes in a rail base and receiving anchoring spikes 18 and 19 some of which, as for instance spike 19, have a projecting shoulder 20 preventing sidewise movement of the rail base, this shoulder being seated securely on the upper face of the tie plate as shown. By interchange of the spikes 18 and 19, the desired gage adjustment or rail shifting can be effected.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a form of tie-plate which'can be rolled to shape and which is secured or anchored to the ties through the use of auxiliary pins or plugs. The tieplate itself may be of rectangular outline with a plurality of openings 21 and 22 suitably positioned therein as for instance along the central line of the rail base, these openings being shaped to receive the countersunk heads of anchoring pins 23 which are driven down into bored holes before the rail is placed in position on the plate. In service, the rail base rests directly on these anchoring pins 28 and so prohibits their accidental release. This plate is provided with rectangular spike holes 24: and 25 shaped as in the construction of Fig. 3 and may if desired carry the tapering lugs or shoulders 26, 27 whereby the spike heads are protected. Spikes 28 along one side are provided with the shoulders 29 and by interchange with the opposite spikes will shift the rail as heretofore explained.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 9, 10 and 11 is adapted more particularly for the use of screw spikes though some of the features there shown are equally applicable to the use of driven spikes. In the construction shown, the tie plate 30 is provided with three spike holes 31, 32 and 33, this arrangement being regarded as a substitute for the two holes shown for instance in Figs. 1 and 3. Each of these spike holes is surrounded by a downwardly projecting boss 34 seated in bored holes in the rail base as above explained, this boss being threaded on the inside if desired but preferably being left smooth to permit free passage therethrough of the screw spike. The screw spikes to be used in this connection may be of varying shape but preferably are of the two types shown in Fig. 10. Spike 85 of Fig. 10 has a threaded shank 36 adapted to screw into the tie and carries an enlarged head beveled on its under face to fit against the top of the rail base, the spike being surmounted by a rectangular projection 37 adapted to take a socket wrench as is customary in this art. The opposing spike 38 is of much the same construction excepting that immediatelybelow the enlargement or head is a cylindrical shoulder 39 serving much the same function as the shoulder 10 of Fig. i and permitting sidewise movement of the rail when the spikes 35 and 38 are interchanged. In this modification of the tie-plate, as in the others, spike protecting shoulders 40 may be disposed on either side of the spike head to prevent shearing in case of derailment.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination of a tie-plate, means for anchoring said tie-plate to a tie, and a spike passed through said tie-plate and having a rail adjusting shoulder seated against said tie-plate, and adapted to hold the base of a rail against an opposing spike.

2. A tie-plate having integral projections for insuring anchorage to a tie, said plate having holes for receiving spikes, the inner edges of said holes being separated by a distance greater than the width of a rail base, said plate being adapted to receive interchangeable spikes, one of which carries a projecting shoulder normally seating on the pie plate and against the edge of the rail ase.

3. A tie-plate having on its lower face integral projections for insuring a secure connection to a tie, spike holes through said plate spaced apart by a distance greater than the width of a rail base, a pocket on the side of each of said spike holes adapted to receive the shoulder of a spike head, and tapered lugs at either side of one of said spike holes to guard the spike head against the shearing action of a derailed wheel.

4. A tie-plate having holes for receiving the spikes, the head of the spike projecting above the tie-plate, triangular projections formed integral with the tie-plate and the base of said triangular projections resting adjacent the head of the spike for protecting the same.

5. A tie-plate having on its lower face integral projections for insuring a secure connection to a tie, spikes adapted to extend through said tie-plate and projections and jections extending adjacent the spike hole on one side of the plate, the opposite ends of said lug projections being beveled substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specification in the presence of two Witnesses.

ALEXANDER B. B. HARRIS.

Witnesses:

I. V. CURRAN, ABBA B. MARVIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

